


Sweeter Than Berries

by xenoshadel



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Gairufu, Old Ass Writing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-09-06 19:48:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16839226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xenoshadel/pseuds/xenoshadel
Summary: Robin often spent her nights reviewing her tactical books for future plans, and one night Gaius convinced her to patrol with him for a change of scenery. They found a berry farm during their patrol and decided to have a little fun, so long as they don't get caught.





	Sweeter Than Berries

Silence. The absence of laughter in the air as soldiers retreated to their tents. The soft glow of a candle as a small pool of melted wax formed around its burning face. Silence was hearing the sound of your heartbeat and the slight crumple of a page turning from the textbook that heavy eyes were gazing into. Such was the night for the tactician, her long hair tied back into a ponytail and a smile curling at her lips as she processed through numerous tactical methods that would be useful for the battlefield. A tip about a specific formation here, a section about the strengths and weaknesses of a particular set of weaponry there, why, the night could pass in the blink of an eye if the studious girl kept her eyes on the pages before her. Silence was indeed her friend as the next page was turned.

Until the crinkle of a candy wrapper slipped through Robin’s ears and momentarily scattered her thoughts.

Furrowing her brows in annoyance, she shook her head and trained her eyes back onto the book in front of her. There was another crinkling sound and the candlelight sped its flickering dance for a few moments. A low chuckle came from the entrance of Robin’s tent and she turned her head to find the familiar smirk of the infamous thief, his posture relaxed as he crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head at her.

“Still up, Bubbles? I don’t think the rest of the soldiers would appreciate their tactician if she were to doze off in the middle of a battle.” He grinned and twiddled a lollipop in his fingers.

The moonlight was reflecting off his orange hair and judging by the angle of the light, it was too late to get a decent amount of sleep now. Robin sighed and gently rubbed her temples. “I couldn’t help myself once I got my hands on this new strategy book. The Risen will probably think I’m one of them if I kept on reading.”

Gaius let out a small laugh and stuck the lollipop in his mouth. “If the element of surprise is supposed to be the next strategy, then it looks like we’ll have the edge on the battlefield.”

“Being lifeless with my enemy soldiers and turning against them when they thought they could trust me. How deceiving,” Robin chuckled and stood up to stretch her arms over her head. “Though what are you doing up so late?”

“It’s my turn to patrol for the night, but the area is as empty as the chef’s bakery now." Gauis shrugged. “I stopped by to see if you could join me for the rest of the patrol.”

“Me?” Robin quirked an eyebrow in surprise. “I don’t know if I should go now. What if—“

“Relax, Bubbles. You could use some fresh air and your book can wait for you while you walk around with your best bud,” Gaius interrupted with a soft tap on her nose. “When was the last time you saw trees that didn’t have Risen hiding behind them anyway? It doesn’t mix well with your lack of sleep, you know.”

Defeated, Robin knew he had a point. The endless nights in her tent were catching up to her and quite frankly, the thought of taking a break from her responsibilities was a little refreshing. Anxiety was still shaking at the back of her mind with what the future could hold, but the tactician could spare an hour to herself, right?

She sighed and nodded, rolling down the sleeves of her heavy robe. “I guess a small break would be a nice change from this night.”

“Now that’s how your noggin is supposed to work.” Gaius grinned and gave her a wink before exiting her tent.

Rolling her eyes in amusement, Robin blew out her candle and walked with Gaius, the moonlight acting as their only guide. It was a peaceful walk when they passed the sleeping tents and crossed a grassy field near the outskirts of the camp. A cool breeze brushed at the tactician’s face and she felt the corners of her lips turn up into a smile. Ignoring the thought of her heavy responsibilities and fear of the future … it felt nice to be outside her tent. The only times she stepped out of her small room of books and papers were to head out into the battlefield, discuss plans with the prince, or get a bite to eat if she remembered to do so. Oddly enough, walking with the thief was . . . comforting. She glanced up at his face only to find him smirking at her, and she quickly turned her head away as he quietly chuckled.

Robin noticed that they made quite a distance between them and the campground and she raised an eyebrow at the tall redhead. “Where exactly are we going? Shouldn’t we be heading back now?”

Gaius shook his head and his green eyes twinkled under the moonlight. “Not just yet, Bubbles. I found a farm with fields of berries earlier and figured we could use a small snack that isn’t bear meat or figs.”

Robin narrowed her eyes and true to his word, a large field was stretched before them. Long rows of vines that curled up tall posts held heavy berries that gave a blue shine from the moon’s long fingers of light. Thick leaves teased at the eyes of the Shepherds as the greenery revealed a part of their berries and moved to cover them with the gentle breeze.

Robin looked up at Gaius in surprise. “We’re not going to steal from a farmer, Gaius.”

He laughed and gestured with his arm to emphasize the size of the field. “You really think that the farmer will notice a few berries missing from that field of his? Relax, Bubbles. I don’t think he would mind too much, especially if it’s Ylisse’s favorite tactician.”

She muttered under her breath and sighed. The berries did look inviting, and there was no way to stop the thief’s sweet tooth if she wanted to stop him. Gaius gave her a toothy smile when she nodded and gently grabbed her wrist. “I know the best spots to get the sweetest berries. Just keep your voice down and follow me.”

She didn’t have time to respond as he eagerly walked to the field and stepped over the wooden fence, almost running to a certain row of vines and leaves. Robin knew that it was wrong to invade another person’s property, but she couldn’t help the feeling of excitement as she matched her pace with Gaius. They stopped at the tallest vines near the middle of the row and Gaius moved his hand to hold back the large leaves and uncover a branch that was drooping from the weight of the berries it held. The blue skin of the berries was nearly tearing apart from ripeness and Robin picked a large berry from the branch, curiously popping it in her mouth.

Her eyes widened from the burst of flavor and sweetness and Gaius laughed with his mouth full of blueberries. “Better than bear meat, eh?”

She nodded in enthusiasm and separated a few more from the branches. “Much better than _any_ of the meat we had.”

They both shared a laugh and continued to pick at the berries, stuffing a few dozens down their pockets and licking their fingers clean from the juices that were already trickling down the torn ones. An idea flashed in Robin’s mind and she asked Gaius to open his mouth. He looked at her quizzically but obliged and the tactician flicked a berry into his mouth. Gaius smiled broadly and grabbed a few berries to return the action, only he shot out multiple ones at Robin’s face and managed to get a couple to land in her mouth. She wiped at the spot a berry hit her cheek and grinned mischievously at him, ripping out a handful of berries and flicking them at him. They laughed at their little battle and saw a light flicker from the farmhouse near them.

“Who’s out there? Eh?! I’ll find you brigands!” an angry voice called out and a farmer jumped out of his door with an iron lance gripped in his hands, wide eyes glancing around the field.

Gaius cursed under his breath and maneuvered Robin to hide beneath the leaves of the berries, stretching his cape over them to hide their bodies. Robin covered her mouth to muffle her squeak of surprise when she felt the cold leaves against her face and stilled her breath with Gaius as they heard the heavy footsteps of the farmer coming from the rows of berries next to the ones they were hiding from. The footsteps slowed as the farmer muttered and peered through the leaves of the posts he was inspecting, failing to notice the dark shadow under the berries that were a few rows before him. Heartbeat racing and fingers twitching, Robin focused on her breathing and noticed the collected gaze of the thief sitting next to her, his eyes narrowed in concentration and his arm held still with the cape draping over them. She could feel the warmth of his face next to hers and Robin silently prayed to Naga that the farmer will leave before her face heated from their close contact. A few moments had passed and the farmer grumbled with his hand clenching the lance once he decided to head back to his house.

“Stupid young’ins and their tricks,” he said in annoyance and slammed his door shut.

Robin let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding and hurriedly ran out of the fields with Gaius. They jumped over the fence and stopped to catch their breath once they reached the edge of their campground. They looked at each other for a moment and burst into hysterical laughter, still trying to wrap their heads around the experience they shared.

“I’ve been stuck between an angry client and a tight space before, but I think that was one of the best moments I’ve ever had.” Gaius grinned and wrapped an arm around Robin’s shoulders as they walked towards her tent.

Robin chuckled and looked up at him. “I guess I should have known better than to expect a normal walk with you.”

He smiled down at her and gave her a lazy wink. “Gaius Sticky Fingers at your service, Bubbles.”

He shrugged off his arm and watched as the tactician relit her candle and brushed off the leaves that clung to her robe. She turned to face him and smiled widely, walking over to tightly embrace him.

“Thank you for the fun, Gaius. It was … nice to not worry about things for a while,” she said, brown eyes shining into his surprised green ones.

He flashed a brilliant smile and wrapped his arms around her. “Anytime, Bubbles. If you ever need a break from saving the world, you know where to find me. You’d make a pretty good partner in crime if you got out more often.”

Robin laughed and shook her head as they parted. “We’ll have to see about that, mister.”

The moonlight seemed to have illuminated his eyes as he looked at her and tilted her head up with a finger on her chin. Time froze when Robin saw him lean his face closer to hers and felt his soft lips on her cheek. Her face felt hotter than an Arcfire spell when he pulled his face away and gave her a half smile.

“There was berry juice on your face, Bubbles. I wouldn’t want that to go to waste,” he teased as he straightened his posture.

Robin stammered and tried to keep a calm composure, despite her face burning in embarrassment. “Oh uh, thanks … Gaius.”

He winked at her and turned to exit the tent before smiling at her for the final time. “Sweet dreams, Bubbles.” And with that, Gaius disappeared into the night.

Robin blinked at the settling flaps of her tent and couldn’t keep her face from splitting into a grin. She brought a hand up to her cheek, still warm from the soft contact, and shook her head as she went back to her waiting book. How the thief managed to wash her worries away and turn her mind into his favorite pudding for a few moments was an odd mystery, but one she didn’t mind, of course. She looked back at the flaps and smiled. Somehow, the future felt a little brighter . . . and a little sweeter.

**Author's Note:**

> Ayyo! Fair warning that this is very old writing I dug up from my tumblr after learning about it going down the shithole and figured welp, for giggles and memories, might as well post the writings I haven't shared yet onto here. Man, I kinda missed them after reading through it again. Good times, eh? Granted that I might make a return one of these days. To those who stuck around or are new readers, thanks for stopping by!
> 
> I have a [ko-fi page](http://ko-fi.com/A35327K1/) if anyone ever wants to leave me a tip!


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